King of Western Chu
(232 – 202 BC) – 30 years
Rarity: LEGENDARY
Civilization: 
China
Talents: 
Xiang Yu was a ruler of the Chu during the last years of the Qin Dynasty. His grandfather, Xiang Yan, was a well-known general, politician, and military strategist.
A born warrior, Xiang Yu joined his uncle Xiang Liang’s uprising against the Qin Dynasty, and receives much of the credit of its success. In the Battle of Julu in 207 BCE, Xiang Yu led only 50,000 soldiers to defeat a Qin army of 400,000. Shortly thereafter, Xiang Yu’s army invaded Guanzhong, burning the palace to the ground and killing the entire Qin royal family.
In 206 BCE, the king of the Han sent troops to conquer Xiang Yu. While Xiang Yu won battles elsewhere, a combination of betrayals and a lack of supplies led to his eventual defeat in 202. Rather than be captured, Xiang Yu chose to take his own life. Historians have depicted him as a figure of unparalleled bravery, though perhaps somewhat foolhardy.
Click here for information on other commanders!
Review of Commander Xiang Yu:
- Ways to obtain Xiang Yu commander sculptures: Wheel of Fortune
- Xiang Yu deals a fan-shaped area-of-effect (AoE) damage to targets through his active skill, which is rare for a cavalry commander (William’s AoE is a rectangular shape). Although the damage scales down quickly by 25% for each additional target, his active skill inflicts on targets a defense reduction of 30% for 3 seconds.
- The rage requirement to trigger Xiang Yu’s first skill is 900, which is 10% lower than most commanders in Rise of Kingdoms, which means Xiang Yu unleashes active skill damage on enemies much faster than other commanders.
- Xiang Yu is one of the best cavalry commanders to use in open-field battling as well as for rallies.
- Xiang Yu is currently one of the top 2 strongest cavalry commanders in RoK (the other is Alexander Nevsky), and he is able to defeat even infantry troops (cavalry-counter) in open-field.
Click here for information on other commanders!
Xiang Yu Commander Skills:
| Skill | Description |
 Warlord’s Courage (active skill) | Rage requirement: 900 Deals direct damage to up to 3 targets in a forward-facing fan-shaped area (Damage Factor 900). Damage dealt to each target is reduced by 25% for each additional target. Successfully hit targets also suffer 10% reduced defense for 3 seconds. Upgrades: Direct Damage Factor: 900/1100/1300/1500/1700 Defense Reduction: 10%/15%/20%/25%/30% |
 Snow-hooved Stallion (passive skill) | Cavalry units led by this commander gain 20% increased attack and 3% increased march speed. When attacked, they have a 20% chance to gain 5% march speed for3 seconds. This effect can trigger once every 5 seconds. Upgrades: Cavalry Attack Bonus: 10%/12%/14%/16%/20% Cavalry March Speed Bonus: 4%/8%/12%/16%/20% Triggered Cavalry March Speed Bonus: 5%/10%/15%/20%/25% |
 Conqueror of All (passive skill) | While attacking strongholds or Governors’ cities, troops led by this commander gain 1% increased damage, and normal attacks have a 10% chance to deal additional direct damage (Damage Factor 200), which can trigger at most once every 3 seconds. Upgrades: Damage Bonus: 1%/2%/3%/4%/5% Direct Damage Factor: 200/250/300/350/400 |
 Forceful Spearhead (passive skill) | While on the map, active skill cost is reduced by 10 rage. After Xiang Yu has used his active skill, his troops will gain a stack of cavalry damage + 1% and march speed -10% for 10 seconds. Another stack is gained if they are being surrounded. This effect can stack up to 6 times. Upgrades: Rage Requirement Reduction: 10/20/30/40/50 Cavalry Damage Bonus: 1%/2%/3%/4%/5% |
| Expertised: Unbeatable Warlord (passive skill) | Troops led by this commander deal an extra 10% skill damage. When troops have gained a rage buff for more than 1 turn, their skill damage will increase by 10% for 3 seconds. This effect can trigger at most once every 5 seconds. |
Skills Upgrading Priority for Xiang Yu:
- The recommended skills setup for Xiang Yu is 5511, as most of the value in using Xiang Yu can be enjoyed at 5511. His third, fourth and Expertise skills are not that fantastic for the number of legendary commander sculptures required to be spent to Expertise him.
- For players who intend to use him for rallies, 5515 will be ideal.
Click here for information on other commanders!
Best Commander Pairings for Xiang Yu:
- Open-field/Rally: Alexander Nevsky (Nevsky as secondary commander) – this is the glass-cannon commander combo (deal highest damage but also take highest damage from enemies). Note that Xiang Yu as primary commander is currently the most targeted target in KvK open-field fighting.
- Open-field/Rally: Expertised Chandragupta Maurya (Xiang Yu as primary commander) – Chandragupta increases the survivability of the troop with his third skill (20% cavalry health bonus) and also inflicts health and defense reduction to the target.
- Open-field/Sunset Canyon: William I (Xiang Yu as primary commander) – William’s active skill removes enemies’ extra skill damage boosts and march speed, which is very important in the latest KvK open-field battle environment, with new commander like Scipio/Nevsky/Boudica Prime dealing massive damage aided by secondary commanders who provide skill damage buffs. William should be minimum 5551 setup.
- Open-field: Saladin (Xiang Yu as primary commander) – This is a “value” commander combo, as you only need Saladin to be at 5551 to be good enough for this to work. Saladin increases the survivability of the troop with his second skill (20% cavalry defense bonus) and third skill (30% skill damage taken reduction and 20% counterattack damage taken reduction).
- Open-field: Minamoto no Yoshitsune (Xiang Yu as primary commander) – Minamoto’s Relic adds a boost of 20% Cavalry Defense and 25% Cavalry Attack – a massive boost to Xiang Yu in terms of damage and survivability in the open-field battling. Minamoto also deals great single-target damage – Damage Factor of 1400 + 50% chance (75% when Expertised) for extra damage per second (Damage Factor 600). Lastly, Minamoto’s fourth skill provides a debuff to enemies (10% chance to increase damage taken by the target by 30% for 3 seconds) which can be devastating when combined with Xiang Yu.
Click here for information on other commanders!
Best Talent Trees for Xiang Yu:
Open-field/Rally
Click here for information on other commanders!
CONQUER THE WORLD AND BECOME THE AUTHOR OF YOUR KINGDOM’S HISTORY – Experience the world’s first true RTS gameplay in this epic strategy game featuring unrivaled degrees of freedom
Developer – Rise of Kingdoms
